


Honored Son

by Clone



Category: Mulan (1998)
Genre: Battle, Gen, Gender Identity, Soldiers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-16 10:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13051842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clone/pseuds/Clone





	Honored Son

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lunap](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunap/gifts).



Throughout the land, the birth of a boy was celebrated, while the birth of a girl was ignored. The village of Fa Zhou was no different. Most of the soldiers had sons, raised to be brave and strong warriors and replace their fathers in battle one day. Many of the farmers had daughters. The girls would work in the fields just like a boy could, and then would marry and bring honor to their family. It was simply the way things were there.

When the wife of Fa Zhou, the war hero, became pregnant, the village elders consulted an herbalist. He read the stalks of the milfoil shi and foresaw that the great hero would have a boy. The idea of the great Fa Zhou having a strong, strapping, son to carry on his name and prowess was celebrated in the village.

When, late in the night, after a very long and difficult labor, Fa Zhou’s wife gave birth to a small, squalling bundle of life, the village celebrated. Only the father and the midwife knew that there was no reason to celebrate; the hero’s wife had borne him a daughter.

When the midwife explained that, due to the complicated birth, it was unlikely that Fa Zhou’s wife would ever bear him another child, he had to think quickly. Having a daughter first, followed by a son, would not be a problem. Having _only_ a daughter, however, would be troubling. Knowing how much the village was counting on him, their hero made a decision.

“We shall raise her as a son,” he declared. The midwife agreed to hide the child's true nature, and then she and Fa Zhou parted ways.

 

\---

All of his life, Fa Ping was raised to be a soldier. The entire village knew that he would one day go off to war like his father before him, and bring great honor to his family and by association the rest of the villagers.

Fa Ping spent most of his days in training. He was the fastest runner, the strongest swimmer, the best climber of all the village boys, even those twice his age. He could stand at attention for hours without fidgeting, hit what he aimed at with every arrow, and hold his own with the best swordsmen and stickmen in the village.

But his training wasn’t only physical. Fa Ping also spent many hours at his studies. He could glance at a map and pick out the best tactical route to attack. He knew the texts of all of the philosophers and strategists by heart, and could recite Sun Tzu wordperfect from memory.

He was the perfect soldier, and the entire village felt responsible for his success. They were so proud of Fa Ping's accomplishments, and knew that he would bring great honor to them all. And none of them knew the secret that Ping's parents had demanded he keep. None knew the name that his mother called him, late at night, while she stroked his hair and rubbed liniment into his aching muscles. The name he should have had.

Mulan.

Then, soon after Fa Ping turned sixteen, the Huns attacked China. The conscriptions went out to all of the villages. One man from every family was called to fight. The hero, wounded in his historic battle many years ago, watched proudly as his son Ping accepted his conscription in his stead.

Ping arrived in the training camp at the head of a group of local men. Some were older, like his father, but with no sons to take their place. Some were young, just barely too young to have served in the last war. And some were Ping’s age, replacing their fathers or uncles who had gone before. All proudly followed Ping the entire way from the village.

First, all of the men and boys had to show off their skills for the General and his Captains. Ping breezed through all of the tests, and was quickly deemed an acceptable soldier. Some of the older men from the village who had useful skills were kept on, while others were sent back home. Of the younger boys, only a few were deemed acceptable to join the main army; the rest were judged too pathetic to fight, and left behind to be trained. Ping hid his pride when the village men spoke to the other soldiers. Soon it was well known that the son of _the_ Fa Zhou was among them.

Ping, as the son of a respected hero, who had proved himself in training, was given a position as a Captain high in General Lee's command. He helped to lead the men, and planned their marches. He offered pointers here and there, to help his men improve their aim, or swordwork, or marching. He listened to the older men as they sat around the fire at night and told stories of battles past - especially the battle in which  _The_ Fa Zhou had become a hero. And, as he had been trained, Ping studied the maps and the terrain through which they marched, putting his brilliant mind to the test.

When one of the General's advisors suggested they make camp in a valley with good water supply, Ping pointed out the dangers that such a location posed. He showed the ease of planning an ambush of that site. What had at first appeared to be an ideal camping spot for the army would actually prove fatal if the Huns found them there. The advisor was furious to be contradicted, but the general listened to Ping.

That night, when the Huns, who had been reported to be a hundred leagues to the East, stormed down the mountain passes into the valley below, General Lee's men, perched high in the peaks above, rained down fire and death upon the invaders.

Thus, the Hun army was defeated, only days into their march into China.

After the battle, Ping accompanied General Lee to the palace of the Emperor, where they were commended for their actions in the war. Ping returned home to the village, followed by all the men he had left with. Not one of their number had died in battle, and their brightest star had been honored by the Emperor, bringing with him the glory that they had all expected.

The village rejoiced.


End file.
